Zombie Nation: An Interview With Steven Yeun

The Walking Dead returns to our screens on Sunday October 16th. With cast and crew busily putting the finishing touches on the remaining five episodes of the new season, we sat down to talk to Steven Yeun about zombies, acting, and what’s in store for fan favorite Glenn this season.

“Every day is different,” Steven tells me, describing the unique appeal of working on a show like The Walking Dead. “Nobody ever phones it in because it’s getting boring. Every day is a whole other adventure. I think that’s what keeps us all so happy and so excited to do this work,” he reflects. “It is really hard work but there’s this benefit in getting to work with a fabulous cast and crew. We’re all very close.”

It’s clear Steven finds the show’s predominantly outdoor scenes a welcome challenge. “The added bonus is doing cool things. Even a simple driving scene we appreciate because we get to drive around in a rickety old car around the back roads of Georgia and act! It’s loads of fun. Super fun. What other shows get to do that? Other shows are on a sound stage. They have coffee breaks. They have air conditioning.” He pauses for a moment before adding with a laugh “We’re just in the shit all the time!”

Glenn finds himself in a tight spot (season one)

Steven assures me that the weather is getting better, currently measuring a cool 78 degrees Fahrenheit. “Before, it was pretty bad. We were hitting high 90’s to 100 degrees with one hundred percent humidity. It was pretty brutal.”

And what’s all this we’ve been hearing about ticks? “Yeah. That happened,” he laughs resignedly. “There’s just a lot of bugs and they like to crawl all over you.”

The current season consists of 13 episodes and will include, among other things, a storyline for Glenn involving Maggie, the daughter of Hershel Green, a familiar character from the Comic Book series. With much of the season taking place at Hershel Greene’s farm, Glenn gets to stretch his wings romantically.

“The actress who plays Maggie is Lauren Cohan,” Steven says. “She is fantastic. We’ve had some great scenes. It’s looking to be a really interesting plot line. Glenn initially really didn’t have much to live for. He was just trying to make his mark on the world. He was living recklessly. It’s interesting to see him reassess his priorities once something of value comes into his life.”

"At the end of the day, he does not want to die"

In many ways I thought Glenn was the one character on the show who has kept his sense of optimism and joy alive. (Who can forget that red sports car from the first season!) I ask Steven if he agrees with that assessment of his character.

“Absolutely,” he says. “At the end of the day, he does not want to die, but I think he is living recklessly. He’s seeking thrills and also seeking approval. Before, he didn’t have much going on with his life. I mean, he was delivering pizzas. It’s gotta be an amazing thing [for Glenn] to have people rely on him and say ‘Hey, you are very valuable to us.’

“And that’s why he puts himself out there. He’s trying to chase that admiration. And that all comes into question when he figures out that ‘hey, maybe I shouldn’t live so recklessly. Maybe there’s another reason I should be living, besides for fame and glory’ – which is for another person.”

Steven attended the San Diego Comic Con in July, along with the rest of the cast and crew. The Walking Dead Panel was attended by over six thousand fans, which Steven describes as ‘just a ridiculously amazing situation.’

“In the middle of filming you don’t really know what people are anticipating, or if people are excited. To see that there was a great feeling. It was so nice for us to take a break from the rigors of shooting and come to such a lovely place.”

I ask Steven about the internet factoid which states that he decided against a medical career in favor of acting.

“Well that’s what I went to school for, initially,” he confirms. “It was actually between medicine and law – which is so cliche of the Asian family. My parents definitely wanted me to do that. I was about to take the LSAT. I was about to take the MCAT. And I just didn’t do it because I found something else that I would rather do. I asked my parents if I could get some time to do this and they gave me a little bit of time and a little bit of time turned into a career and so thank God for that!

“The first thing I appeared in was a Best Buy commercial, but I had also been doing theater in Chicago during that time. When I moved to LA I did a couple more commercials and then the first TV show I appeared on was Big Bang Theory.”

I mention his recent appearance on Syfy’s Warehouse 13.

“Yes, I shot an episode of Warehouse 13 just before we started this season. It was fun because I’m actually friends with Allison Scagliotti (Claudia). We did a project together a while back – an independent film called My Name is Jerry. It was nice to see her again and get to meet her on her show and work with her.

The tone was obviously a little bit lighter than on The Walking Dead. “Oh yeah! The tone was a little bit different,” he jokes.

Steven is also a fan of The Walking Dead Comic Book series. “I was into the comics before I even knew that the show was happening,” he tells me. “And it was just an added bonus that I got it. How amazing is that? The comic is great.”

I fess up and admit that I haven’t read the comic.
“You should check it out, but be prepared to fall into a deep hole of depression afterwards,” he warns. “It’s pretty dark and bleak.”

I can’t let Steven go without snurching his top tip for surviving a Zombie Apocalypse.

“Hm, I would say, find someone who knows what they’re doing and latch onto them.”

And if the Zombie Apocalypse should come to pass, which would Steven find more scary, slow moving shufflers or fast moving stalkers?

“Definitely the fast ones. The fast ones are the most terrifying. They look terrifying. … they just run with this reckless abandon … the flailing … ”

Catch all new episodes of The Walking Dead on AMC, Sunday October 16th 9/8c.

7 Comments

sconaty

October 10, 2011 at 10:55 pm

Glenn is one of my favorite Walking Dead characters, so it’s great to hear from Steven. When you hear about the filming, with the high temperatures and bugs, it demonstrates just how gritty the show actually is.

I can’t wait for the new season to start….. boy have they made us wait.. but the wait is nearly over

Lux

October 10, 2011 at 11:04 pm

I love this show. Sunday can’t come soon enough.Thanks to Steven for his insights on working in Georgia and on the set. He makes it sound tough but totally worth it!!

starlady

October 10, 2011 at 11:05 pm

Fabulous interview! So he chose acting over med school, glad it all worked out for him. I caught him on WH13, great job. I like the character of Glen and hopefully a little romance will do him a world of good. I’m so looking forward to season 2, I know it will be worth the wait. Zombies rule!

Loubelles

October 11, 2011 at 9:04 am

Great interview with Steven! I didn’t know there were Walking Dead comics – I must get my hands on these. I reckon this is one of the best shows at the moment – i just hope that series 2 has more episides than series 1.

Pat Sandorski

October 11, 2011 at 10:12 am

Brilliant interview with Stephen I really enjoyed it and I can’t wait for the next season
Shame about the bugs but what can you expect with all those dead bodies lying around.
The interview gave great insights into this wonderful show .Stephen plays a very interesting character in the Walking Dead and I hope to see a lot more of him next season
Congratulations to Chevron One
P.J.

TJinLOCA

October 11, 2011 at 11:21 am

Very enjoyable interview! Steven does a great job on the show, and Glenn is such a believable character. I agree with him about the comic books, though. Even darker than the TV show – VERY depressing.

ViSu

November 11, 2011 at 11:23 am

Really love the movie..
glenn is so cute..
his expresions really natural.. make me laugh